Mouri Ran clearly thought it was the latter. Considerately changing the subject for Yamaguchi Hideo, she said, "I never expected the truth behind the 'haunting' to be so simple. Come to think of it, it would've been nice if Dr. Araide had come with us—he's probably good at chemistry, so maybe he could've distinguished the smell of ammonia from dirt on the spot."
Jiang Xia glanced at her. "Why did you suddenly bring up Dr. Araide? Did you see him too?"
Mouri Ran nodded. "I'd just come back from seeing him this afternoon."
But Calvados sharply caught one key word. "'Too'?"
Jiang Xia nodded. "When I arrived, I saw him nearby. He said he was a little curious about the haunting rumors here, but he didn't want to disturb anyone, so he only watched from afar."
Calvados: "?!!"
That goddess had actually been nearby too?
...What did he mean, he didn't want to disturb them? She must have wanted to visit, but because these Uninvited Guests had arrived first, she had no choice but to keep her distance for now!
"These people really ruined my plans." Calvados gave Jiang Xia and the others a chilly look. "But..."
He recalled all the things that had happened that afternoon: getting startled by the Ghost Hand on the TV, getting startled by the Ghost Hand in the toilet, fighting off the Moths that kept inexplicably throwing themselves at him...
After a moment of silence, Calvados's hostility toward the Detective lessened somewhat.
—If Vermouth, rather than these people, had seen him in such an embarrassing state, he would have wanted to die.
"Come to think of it, could that goddess still be nearby?" Calvados belatedly realized something. Looking out into the pitch-black night, he muttered to himself:
"This Detective's deductions sound convincing enough, but